I AM A SONIC BOOMER, NOT A SENIOR... In this blog, I am writing to and for those who believe that the Boomers will change what the word Senior means. I also believe that Boomers will change what retirement means in our society. The blog is also for those who are interested in what life after retirement may look like for them. In this blog I highlight and write about issues that I believe to be important both for Seniors and working Boomers.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Welcome to Sadie Hawkins Day (of sorts) Thirty days hath September

On this last Monday of February, a little whimsy:

First a song we learned in school, this is an old
version that was traditionally sung (source unknown):

Thirty days hath September,

April, June, and November.

All the rest have
thirty-one,

Except February alone,

Which has twenty-eight, in
fine,

And each leap year
twenty-nine.

Do you remember Sadie Hawkins Day? It was first
mentioned in the November 15, 1937 Li'l Abner daily strip, is
a spin-off of the tradition that gives women the “right” to propose to a man,
every four years. Al Capp changed the date and turned the event into a race, with
the race actually taking place between November 19 and November 30.

The
traditionof a woman
proposing on a leap year has been attributed to various historical figures.
One, although much disputed, was St Bridget in the 5th Century. She is said to
have complained to St Patrick that women had to wait too long for their suitors
to propose. St Patrick then supposedly gave women a single day in a leap year
to pop the question - the last day of the shortest month.

The right of every women to propose on 29th February
each leap year goes back hundreds of years when the leap year day had no
recognition in English law (the day was 'leapt over' and ignored, hence the
term 'leap year'). It was decided that the day had no legal status, meaning
that a break in tradition on this day was acceptable.

So on this day women can take advantage of this anomaly
and propose to the man they wish to marry.

The practice of
women proposing in a leap year is different around the world. In Denmark, it is
not supposed to be 29 but 24 February, which hails back to the time of Julius
Caesar. A refusal to marry by Danish men means they must give the woman 12
pairs of gloves. In Finland, it is not gloves but fabric for a skirt and in
Greece, marriage in a leap year is considered unlucky, leading many couples to
avoid it.

In Scotland, however, to ensure success, women should
also wear a red petticoat under their dress - and make sure that it is partly
visible to the man when they propose.

For those wishing to take advantage of this ancient
tradition, 29th February is your day!

Other interesting things about this day:

Why is February
29, not February 31, a leap year day? All the other months have 30 or 31 days,
but February suffered from the ego of Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus. Under
Julius Caesar, February had 30 days, but when Caesar Augustus was emperor, he
was peeved that his month - August - had only 29 days, whereas the month named
after his predecessor Julius - July - had 31. "He pinched a couple of days
for August to make it the same as July. And it was poor old February that lost
out

Every fourth year
is a leap year, as a rule of thumb. But that's not the end of the story. A year
that is divisible by 100, but not by 400, is not. So 2000 was a leap year under
the Gregorian calendar, as was 1600. But 1700, 1800 and 1900 are not leap
years. There's a good reason behind it.

The year is 365 days and a quarter long - but not
exactly. If it was exactly, then you could say it was every four years. But it
is very slightly less." The answer arrived at by Pope Gregory XIII and his
astronomers when they introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582, was to lose
three leap days every 400 years. The maths has hung together ever since.

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About Me

I was raised on Vancouver Island and in 1965, left to become a charter student of Simon Fraser University I graduated with a degree in Economics and Commerce in 1969; got on with life and then 25 years later graduated with my Masters in Educational Technology from City University in Seattle.

I started teaching in Surrey in 1973, but in 2000, I also started teaching at the University of Phoenix, Vancouver Campus. I became Area Chair for Curriculum and Instruction in 2005 but within four years, Phoenix closed its Vancouver Campus. I fully retired in 2012.

I served on the Board of SHARE Family & Community Services. The Society is a non- profit, independent, community based organization providing leadership and programs in response to the social needs of the residents of the Tri-Cities. I currently write a blog about issues important to Boomers as well as a blog about Personalized Gift Giving